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Left, Saints Juliana of Mont Cornillon, Eva of Liège and Isabelle de Huy in adoration before the Holy Sacrament presented by the Virgin. Englebert Fisen, 1690. Collégiale Saint-Martin, Liège, Belgium. Right, Benedict XVI in the Corpus Domini processions he used to lead in Rome.
 features Benedict XVI's 2010 catechesis on the saint who did most to promote the celebration of the Eucharist in the Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi) liturgy...
Here is how I reported it in this Forum at the time...
Springtime of the Eucharist
NOV 17, 2010 (RV) - On Wednesday Pope Benedict said that the Church is witnessing a “springtime in Eucharistic devotion”, particularly among young people who are finding time to “stop in silence before the tabernacle to spend time with Him”.
The Pope described this as a “wonderful development” and specifically mentioned the Eucharistic Adoration he led in Hyde Park London during his recent apostolic visit there.
He said he hoped that this “springtime of the Eucharist” would spread to other parishes, particularly in Belgium, the birthplace of St Juliana of Liège, a 13th century Augustinian nun, whose devotion to the Eucharist gave rise to the universal feast of Corpus Christi, and to whom he dedicated his catechesis this week:
Intelligent and cultured, she was drawn to contemplative prayer and devotion to the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the result of a recurring vision, Juliana worked to promote a liturgical feast in honour of the Eucharist.
The feast of Corpus Christi was first celebrated in the Diocese of Liège, and began to spread from there. Pope Urban IV, who had known Juliana in Liège, instituted the solemnity of Corpus Christi for the universal Church and charged Saint Thomas Aquinas with composing the texts of the liturgical office.
The Pope himself celebrated the solemnity in Orvieto, then the seat of the papal court, where the relic of a celebrated Eucharistic miracle, which had occurred the previous year, was kept.
As we recall Saint Juliana of Cornillon, let us renew our faith in Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist and pray that the “springtime of the Eucharist” which we are witnessing in the Church today may bear fruit in an ever greater devotion to the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood.
Here is the full catechesis:
Dear brothers and sisters.
This morning I wish to present to you another female figure, little known, but to whom the Church owes a great deal, not just for her holiness in life, but also because, with her great fervor, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important liturgical solemnities of the year, the Feast of Corpus Domini.
She is St. Juliana of Cornillon, also known as St. Juliana of Liege. The information we have about her life comes above all from a biography probably written by a churchman who was her contemporary, and who recounts various testimonies by persons who knew the saint directly.
Juliana was born in 1191 or 1192 near Liege in Belgium. It is important to emphasize the place, because at that time, the Diocese of Liege was, so to speak, a true 'Eucharistic cenacle'.
Before Juliana, distinguished theologians had illustrated the supreme value of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and in Liege, there were women's groups who were generously dedicated to Eucharistic worship and to fervent communion. Guided by exemplary priests, they lived together, dedicating themselves to prayer and charitable works.
Orphaned at age 5, Juliana and her sister Agnes were entrusted to the care of Augustinian nuns in the convent-leprosarium of Mont-Cornillon. She was educated particularly by a nun named Sapienza who followed her spiritual maturation until Juliana received the religious habit and became an Augustinian nun herself.
She acquired remarkable culture, to the point where she read the works of the Church Fathers in Latin, particularly St. Augustine and St. Bernard Clairvaux.
Besides her lively intelligence, Juliana showed, from the start, a particular propensity for contemplation. She had a profound sense of the presence of Christ which she experienced with particular intensity in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, often meditating on the words of Jesus: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28,20).
At 16, she experienced her first vision which was repeated several times afterwards during her Eucharistic adorations. The vision showed the moon in full splendor, with a dark stripe which crossed it diametrically. The Lord made her understand the significance of what she saw. The moon symbolized the life of the Church on earth, the opaque line represented the absence of a liturgical feast, for the institution of which Juliana was called on to work effectively - that is, a feast in which believers could adore the Eucharist in order to augment their faith, advance in the practice of virtues, and repair offenses through the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Also involved was a much-esteemed priest, John of Lausanne, canon of the Church of St. Martin in Liege, whom the women devotees asked to advocate their dearest cause among theologians and ecclesiastics. The responses were positive and encouraging.
What happened with Juliana of Cornillon is often repeated in the life of saints: In order to confirm that an inspiration truly comes from God, one must always immerse oneself in prayer, know how to wait patiently, seek the friendship and opinion of other good souls, and submit everything to the judgment of the pastors of the Church.
It was the Bishop of Liege himself, Robert de Thourotte, who, after initial hesitation, welcomed the proposal of Juliana and her companions, and instituted for the first time, the Solemnity of Corpus Domini in his diocese. Later, other bishops imitated him, establishing the feast in the territories entrusted to their pastoral care.
Nonetheless, the Lord often asks the saints to overcome trials in order to further increased their faith. This happened to Juliana, who had to suffer the severe opposition of some members of the clergy and of the superior of her monastery.
Therefore, of her own will, Juliana left the convent of Mont-Cornillon with some companions, and for ten years, from 1248 to 1258, she was a guest in various monasteries of Cistercian nuns. She edified everyone with her humility, she never had a word of criticism or reproach for her adversaries, but continued to zealously spread the Eucharistic cult.
She died in 1248 at Fosses-La-Ville, in Belgium. In the cell where she lay, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, and according to her biographer, Juliana had died, contemplating, with her last impulse of love, Jesus in the Eucharist, whom she had always loved, honored and adored.
Also conquered by the good cause of the Feast of Corpus Domini was Jacques de Troyes who had known the saint when he was archdeacon of Liege. It was he who, as Pope Urban IV, in 1264, instituted the Feast of Corpus Domini as a required feast for the universal Church on the Thursday after Pentecost.
In the Bull instituting the feast, entitled [CC]Transiturus de hoc mundo (dated August 11, 1264), Pope Urban discreetly evoked the mystical experiences of Juliana, valuing their authenticity, and wrote:
"Although the Eucharist is solemnly celebrated everyday, we think it is right that at least once a year, a greater and more solemn commemoration should be held. In this sacramental commemoration of Christ, under the species of bread and wine, Jesus Christ is present among us in his own substance. Indeed, before he ascended to heaven, he had said: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28,20).
The Pontiff himself wished to set an example, celebrating the Solemnity of Corpus Domini in Orvieto, the city where he lived at the time. By his order, the city's Cathedral conserved - and still does - the famous corporal with the traces of the Eucharistic miracle that had taken place the year before, 1263, in Bolsena.
A priest, as he was consecrating the bread and wine, was seized by sudden doubt as to the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Miraculously, drops of blood started to ooze from the consecrated Host, confirming what our faith proclaims.
Pope Urban asked one of the greatest theologians in history, St. Thomas Aquinas - who was at the time with the Pope in Orvieto - to compose the texts for the liturgy of this new feast. Those texts, which are still in use today, are masterpieces in which theology and poetry merge.
They are texts which make the chords of the heart vibrate to express praise and gratitude to the Most Blessed Sacrament, while the mind, penetrating with wonder into the mystery, acknowledges in the Eucharist the living presence of Jesus, of his sacrifice of love which reconciles us with the Father and gives us salvation.
Although, after the death of Urban IV, the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Domini was limited to some regions in France, Germany, Hungary, and northern Italy, yet another Pontiff, John XXII, renewed it in 1317 for the whole Church. Since then, the feast developed marvelously, and even today, it is devoutly felt by the Christian people.
I wish to affirm with joy that today, in the Church, there is a Eucharistic spring! How many persons stop for a moment of silence before the Tabernacle, to have a conversation of love with Jesus! It is comforting to know that not a few groups of young people have rediscovered the beauty of praying in adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament. I think, for instance, of the Eucharistic Adoration we held in London's Hyde Park.
I pray that this Eucharistic spring may continue to spread even more in all parishes, particularly in Belgium, St. Juliana's homeland. Venerable John Paul II, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, noted that "in so many places... the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament finds ample space in the daily routine and becomes an inexhaustible spring of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is a grace from the Lord, who every year fills with joy all who participate in it. Other signs of Eucharistic faith and love can be mentioned" (No. 10).
In remembering St. Juliana of Cornillon, let us renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us, "Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is, in fact, present in a true, real and substantial way: with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and with his Divinity. In it, he is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine - Christ who is whole and total, God and man"(No. 262).
Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in the Sunday Mass is essential for the journey of faith, but let us also seek to frequently visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle!
Contemplating the consecrated Host in adoration, we encounter the gift of God's love, we encounter the Passion and the Cross of Jesus, as well as his Resurrection.
Through contemplating him in adoration, the Lord draws us towards him, within his mystery, to transform us as he transforms the bread and wine. The saints have always found strength, comfort and joy in the Eucharistic encounter.
With the words of the Eucharistic hymn 'Adoro te, devote', let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: "Make me believe ever more in you, because in you, I have hope, and because I love you". Thank you.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/06/2020 04:39] |